51,835 students who qualified for university admission through a KCSE mean grade of C+ and above did not apply under the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), opting instead for alternative education and career pathways.

Speaking during the release of the 2026 university placement results on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Agnes Wahome said that while the majority of eligible candidates sought placement through the agency, thousands of others chose different routes, including studying abroad, joining the disciplined forces, or enrolling in public and private universities as self-sponsored students.

“When we look at how the students applied, those who had straight A’s, 96.3 per cent, applied. Some have gone abroad, some have joined the military, while others are joining universities as self-sponsored students in both our public and our private universities,” Wahome said.

She noted that KUCCPS considers the high application rate among top-performing students a positive sign that the agency has reached most candidates eligible for university admission.

According to KUCCPS, 270,508 candidates, representing 27.4 per cent of the 2025 KCSE cohort, attained the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above, an increase from the previous year.

However, application rates varied across grades, with students who attained lower qualifying grades being less likely to apply through KUCCPS.

The data shows that of the 1,931 candidates who scored an A (Plain), 1,860 applied for placement, while 71 did not, representing an application rate of 96.3 per cent.

Among the 9,259 candidates who attained an A-, 8,667 submitted applications, while 592 did not apply, translating to an application rate of 93.6 per cent.

For candidates who scored B+, 20,911 out of 23,748 eligible students applied, leaving 2,837 who did not seek placement through KUCCPS. This represented an application rate of 88.1 per cent.

The agency also recorded 42,029 applications from the 49,805 candidates who attained a B (Plain), while 7,776 eligible students did not apply, resulting in an application rate of 84.4 per cent.

Among the 80,128 candidates with a B-, 65,410 applied and 14,718 did not, translating to an application rate of 81.6 per cent.

The largest number of non-applicants came from the C+ category. Of the 103,858 candidates who attained the minimum university entry grade, 78,017 applied through KUCCPS, while 25,841 did not, representing an application rate of 75.1 per cent.

In total, 216,894 of the 268,729 eligible candidates in the A to C+ categories applied for university placement, leaving 51,835 students who did not submit applications through the placement agency.

CS Ogamba’s take

During the release of the placement results, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the figures also reflected a growing number of students who are deliberately choosing alternative training pathways despite qualifying for degree programmes.

According to Ogamba, 8,915 students who attained the minimum university entry grade in the 2025 KCSE examination opted for non-degree programmes in tertiary institutions and have already been placed.

“This year, a total of 8,915 students who qualified for degree programmes in the 2025 KCSE examination opted for non-degree programmes in tertiary institutions and have also been placed,” Ogamba said.

The CS acknowledged that while many of the students who did not apply had pursued other opportunities, others may have missed the application deadline due to various circumstances.

“We recognise that some eligible students did not apply for placement because they may have opted to seek alternative pathways to higher education and training, for example, the disciplined forces, overseas training or self-sponsorship programmes in universities and colleges. Still, some of them may have missed the opportunity to apply because of other circumstances,” he said.

Re-opening of KUCCPS portal for late applications

To ensure that no eligible learner misses out on university placement, Ogamba directed KUCCPS to immediately reopen the application process for those who failed to submit their applications within the stipulated timeline.

“To give a chance to such students, I have directed the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service to immediately devise a mechanism to allow late applications for placement. In the same vein, I call upon all eligible candidates who may have missed the just-concluded application cycle to take advantage of this opportunity. Our clarion call is that no student should be left behind,” he stated.

The Education CS also announced changes to the university transfer process to give students more time to reconsider their course and institution choices.

“As part of career alignment, I know that some students who have been placed today may wish to transfer from one university to another. To allow adequate time and opportunity for such transfers, this year, we will be extending the transfer window from a period of two weeks to one month,” Ogamba said.